Carter's Surgery 8/31/2011

This morning Carter went to the hospital for surgery. He has been continually having intestinal issues for the past two months. After tons of medial opinions and medicines the doctors agreed it would be best to go in and take a look at things. They went in with the hopes of finding the problem and fixing it at the time of surgery. The surgeon did dilate the intestine hoping this will solve the problem. If this isn't the fix he needs, Carter will be having a complete revision to his ostomy and it will also be relocated to a new site. We are thankful for God's hands being on Carter through this procedure and for all of the prayers that our friends and family continue to give to God for our little boy's healing. We also appreciate the surgeons, nurses, and all hospital staff. Thank you again for all your prayers. We are looking forward to Carter's birthday party this weekend and hope that he will be pain free and in good spirits.

One year old...

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

It’s hard to believe this little boy is a year old today! On August 20, 2010 at 9:29 am a 3lb 3oz little baby boy was born. I only got to see him for a few minutes before he was taken to the NICU. Due to my high blood pressure it was 9 hours before I got to see and hold him. I will never forget the first time I saw him. He was perfect! I think I felt as all moms do the first time seeing their baby, I looked him over. Just to make sure nothing was wrong with him. I could not find a thing, he was perfect! Right then I feel in love with him. A few of the first words I shared with him were that I loved him so much and that I needed him to fight and to be strong. I knew that at times it would be tough and sometimes painful but I would always be right by his side and one day when all of this was over and he had no more life on earth he would have a new life with no pain and that it was really something worth looking forward to.

Through the grace of God Carter has overcome and has beaten the odds. We were told Carter may not have full sensation from the waist down due to his spinal defects. I am proud to announce that Carter is crawling! He goes all over the place and can even pull himself up to standing. We are so proud of him! Carter is still extremely happy and very rarely cries. He has really started to talk the past few weeks. He said Dada for the first time a few days ago and thankfully Brandon was home to hear it. He has figured out how to say yes and no by shaking his head. He has really become aware of his surroundings and points to everything he wants. One of his favorite things to do is tell you how old he is. He holds his one little finger up when you ask him how old he is. Of course he still loves to play patty cake and sing. Carter still struggles to gain weight although he is now up to 15lbs! He wears 0-3 month clothing and a size 2 diaper. We attempt to feed him some sort of solid food at least 3 times a day. He eats 4-5oz every 4 hours and usually wakes up once or twice a night for a 1-2 oz snack.

We are so proud of all Carter has overcome this year. We are so honored and thankful to be part of his life. This time last year Brandon and I had no idea of the miracle we were about to witness. We were not certain if Carter would survive much less thrive. As I look at him today it’s hard for me to believe he has special needs. I just see him as being so perfect and I guess that’s why God chose me to be his Mommy. One of our sweet friends Laura Quick with Flutterby Photography took Carter’s one year old pictures. She did an amazing job and we are extremely thankful. We had Carter a small party today with his Nana and Pop Pop (my mom and dad) since it was officially his birthday and we are planning a larger Mickey Mouse swim party over labor day weekend. Here are a few pictures of Carter’s special day. I want to say a special thank you to Laura Lee May  for making Carter’s adorable and yummy Veggie Tales cake. Happy Birthday Carter!

　

Of couse he HAD to get in the water!

Here are a few pictures from the day Carter was born, he has come so far!

Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” Mark 9: 36-37

He was not real interested in eating his cake, but atleast he tried!

Isn't this cake cute!

All of the gifts are from my Mom and Dad, do you think he is spoiled?

Happy 1st Birthday Carter!

Carter update...

Our appointment at UAB was canceled again. Due to Carter's test results on Friday our surgeon wanted to see him today. Our surgeon decided he would try to manipulate Carter's bowels in an attempt to get them flowing correctly. The procedure is painful and I was given two options. Carter could be sedated and go to surgery on Thursday or we could attempt to do it in the clinic and if Carter did not tolerate it our Doctor would stop and we would schedule surgery for Thursday. It was a tough decision, but I decided to let our Doctor try it in the clinic. This way Carter did not have to go through being sedated, not being able to eat, an I.V. and everything else that goes along with surgery. Carter did really good. He is still a little sore and we will need to go back in 4 weeks and have the same thing done again, but we are extremly happy he did not have to go through another surgery. We went Tuesday for Carter's feeding evaluation and got some really good tips and different tools to help him eat. He did really good today. He ate an entire jar of baby food for lunch!! This is really good for Carter. He usually eats one or two bites on a good day. So we are really excited and are praying he will start gaining weight. We did reschedule our appointment at UAB. Carter has an appointment Thursday with our urologist and we will go to UAB next week for his MRI with sedation.